Tortoise Lessons

Oriental poetry: Korean style called Sijo

"Tortoise Lessons"


                   Observe the tortoise on a mission to teach and advise.

                   Slow down your pace and feel grounded; notice your life's steady path.

                   As in Aesop's fable, inching forward wins the journey's race.






Footnote:The Korean "Sijo" shares a common ancestry with haiku, tanka and similar Japanese genres. All evolved from more ancient Chinese patterns. Sijo is traditionally composed in three lines of 14-16 syllables each, totaling between 44-46 syllables. A pause breaks each line approximately in the middle. The sijo may be narrative or thematic, introducing a situation or problem in line 1, development or "turn" in line 2, and resolution in line 3.There is a strong basis in nature.